Glen Burnie puts in OT to end Northeast streak News and notes

It took one of the season's longest games to end the nation's fourth longest winning streak in high school softball history.

Northeast, which had won 64 straight games since 1988, lost at Glen Burnie yesterday, 4-3 in 16 innings.

The star for Glen Burnie was shortstop Heather Smith. In the 11th inning, she made a diving catch and threw to double off a runner at third base, preserving a 3-3 tie. Then with one out in the 16th she drove in the winning run with a single.

The streak ended far short of the nation's longest ever -- 112 straight by Vandebilt (La.) High from 1980-83 -- but the Eagles finished just seven short of the third-longest ever, 71 by James Madison High of Vienna, Va.

Senior ace Kristy Zulka started for Northeast (8-1), which led, 3-0, going into the bottom of the third. Glen Burnie (6-2) cut it to 3-2 in the third on Michelle Ackerman's single to right. Then the Gophers tied it when Stacey Jordan doubled to right-center in the sixth.

In the 11th, Zulka had to be carried off the field after she injured her right knee, and she was replaced by reliever Ericka Shade. In the 16th, Glen Burnie's Smith singled off Shade to score Ackerman with the winning run. Ackerman had reached base on a triple to right.

Glen Burnie senior righthander Mandy Albrecht (5-2) went the distance, throwing 179 pitches in 16 innings. She gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out 12.

Kelly Tibbs drove in all three runs for Northeast. Zulka, who gave up six hits, struck out seven and retired the last 13 batters she faced.

* Woodlawn's Eric Wilson, a senior hurdler, spent Sunday afternoon at a tea hosted by the University of Delaware president. Wilson, who will represent the U.S. International Team this summer on a tour of the Soviet Union, has been offered a four-year engineering scholarship to Delaware. He may choose that, but he also has been accepted at Brown.

Wilson will be among the best tomorrow (4 p.m.) at the Meade Stampede on the Mustangs' newly resurfaced oval. The field includes most of the area's top Class 4A programs, along with Mount St. Joseph and some Prince George's County heavyweights. Most of the city's teams will gather at Poly Saturday (10 a.m.) for the Eddie P. Hurt Invitational.

* Junior pitcher-shortstop Rob McCandless is a prime reason Severna Park is off to a rapid start (6-1) in the Anne Arundel Class 4A baseball league. He pitched the Falcons of coach Jim Pitt to two victories last week and went 12-for-13 at bat with two home runs and nine RBIs.

"I asked him what happened on that one time at bat when he didn't get a hit," said Falcon soccer coach Don Gregg. "He shrugged and said, 'I reached on an error.' "

* Archbishop Curley's Bryan Bowen is another area baseball player off to a rapid start this season. The senior notched victories over Mount St. Joe and Poly last week and went 9-for-10 at bat with five extra-base hits and five RBIs.